MOVIE REVIEW! - 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'

'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' (2024)

From co-writer and director George Miller comes another entry into his long-running “Mad Max” series, but this time Furiosa, the heroine from “Mad Max: Fury Road” takes center stage. Well, to be honest, Furiosa was kind of the star in “Fury Road” as well in addition to Mad Max himself. This time, Anya Taylor-Joy succeeds Charlize Theron in a story that tells the tale of just how Furiosa became the character we eventually meet in “Fury Road”.

At a young age, Furiosa is in the Green Place, one of the only places that has gone untouched by the previous nuclear wars that created the Wasteland. One day, she encounters raiders who have stumbled upon the place and they eventually capture her and she meets Dr. Dementus, played to perfection by Chris Hemsworth.

Eventually, Furiosa goes on to work for Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), the leader of the Citadel and commander of the War Boys. Still, Furiosa wants both revenge against Dementus and she wants to eventually return to the home she’s now lost.

I’ll go ahead and get my few criticisms for the movie out of the way first. For one, the movie is a prequel, which means I know where Furiosa has to be by the end of the movie. That means that the tension around the character is greatly reduced. In “Fury Road”, I was genuinely concerned for her, but here it kind of feels like we already got “Part II” of this story so the road ahead is not as unpredictable.

Anya Taylor-Joy is out for revenge in 'Furiosa'!

Secondly, the movie is a tad too long at two hours and twenty eight minutes. There could have been a few places to tighten up the first hour, in particular. This means that the movie also doesn’t quite reach the heights of “Fury Road”, a movie that pretty much started with a bang that continued throughout the whole movie.

That said, when the movie does kick off, you’re in for one hell of a ride. Miller once again brings his skills as a bonafide badass action director to maximum speed. There are some fantastic action scenes that are some of the best in a series known for its magnificent set pieces. Also, the sound design is perfect as you really feel the engines roar and realize that this is a movie best experienced in the theater!

Also, while I did complain about the runtime a little bit, I actually did appreciate the attempt to expand the world building that we saw from “Fury Road”. In that movie, we heard about Bullet Town and Gastown in the first movie and sort of explored their alliance with the Citadel, but this movie fleshes out the economics of how they work together. It also shows the stakes of having to deal with someone like Dementus who could throw a wrench in their entire operation.

Then there is Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and Hemsworth as Dementus. Taylor-Joy does a fantastic job at channeling that same quiet stillness that Theron portrayed in “Fury Road” with that same boiling rage just underneath the calm demeanor. I feel this is the same character at a different point in her life and never felt like I missed that Theron was not playing the role.

Hemsworth, on the other hand, is simply having a blast playing the crazy Dementus. There is no doubt that he is the villain of the piece, but he also has some rare moments where he taps into a previous life before the Wastelands took everything from him and made him what is in the present. It’s another fabulous showcase for Hemsworth as he makes Dementus another memorable Mad Max villain.

So, yes the movie is a tad slow to really get its engines running and it does suffer from the built-in predictability of the fact that it is a prequel. In spite of that, there are plenty of action sequences and great performances that make this another worthy entry into the series even if it can’t quite live up to the status of “Fury Road”.

To be fair, though, how many action films really can stand up to “Fury Road”? I say check this one out, preferably at the theater if you can.

MIDDLE-AGED MATINEE! #10 - 'Firestarter'

'Firestarter' (1984)

When Andrew McGee (David Keith) and Vicky Tomlinson (Heather Locklear) take part in a secret research project while in college, they are granted fantastic powers. Andrew can force people to do things against their will while Vicky can read minds. They also fall in love and get married before having a daughter named Charlie (Drew Barrymore).

Charlie ends up also having a special ability. She can cause anything to catch on fire. Unfortunately, she’s only a little kid and she can barely control her dangerous power. Eventually, the organization behind the experiments that gave Andrew and Vicky their powers, known as “The Shop”, start to chase after Charlie and Andrew after they kill Vicky.

The only questions that remain is whether or not Charlie can learn to control her power and if she and her father can ever escape from the Shop.

This Stephen King adaptation was originally supposed to be directed by John Carpenter when Universal hired him while he was still directing “The Thing”. Carpenter hired screenwriter Bill Lancaster to write a script that King ultimately approved of as well.

Drew Barrymore's Charlie can create fire, but can she control it?

Unfortunately, “The Thing” underperformed at the box office and this caused Universal to fire Carpenter from the project. The studio then hired director Mark L. Lester to direct the movie with a new screenplay by Stanley Mann.

I wonder what Carpenter’s take on the movie would have been like because I feel it probably would have been a better movie. After all, “The Thing” is now recognized as one of the best horror films ever made while “Firestarter” is often seen as a respectable yet not great King adaptation.

I think King may have liked what Carpenter would have done better as well. While this movie stays pretty true to the original source material, King does not look favorably on this movie having once called it a “flavorless” adaptation.

I also have my own issues with the movie. There is a brief part where Charlie and Andrew end up with a couple of farmers while on the run, played by Art Carney and Louise Fletcher. The farmers are your stereotypical “wholesome” characters and it feels like Charlie and Andrew have stumbled on a set from a melodramatic ‘80s TV series before the chase resumes.

George C. Scott's Rainbird tries to gain Charlie's trust in 'Firestarter'.

This is an example of how the movie has an uneven pace. At first, it’s a chase picture with the father and daughter on the run while flashbacks set up how they got into their predicament in the first place. Then, they’re taking a time out until they end up at the Shop where they must contend with the diabolical James Hollister (Martin Sheen) and the absolutely batshit crazy and rather creepy John Rainbird (George C. Scott).

There are moments here where the movie slows to a snail's pace and I can understand why King called it a flavorless adaptation. If they had edited the movie and cut about 15 minutes out in the middle of the picture, then it could have been way more thrilling.

There is also the dialogue in the movie, which ranges from alright to downright atrocious. If the dialogue was just standard, I wouldn’t even mention it but there are times where it actually took me out of the movie for a moment.

Now, with all that said, I can say that I actually do like this movie in spite of its flaws. First off, the performances are pretty good all around. Particular praise goes out to the young Barrymore as Charlie and her performance is further proof of why she was one of the biggest child stars at the time. Then there is Scott as Rainbird, a truly sinister character that Scott plays to perfection and he works extremely well in the scenes he has with Barrymore.

I also want to give a special shout out to Tangerine Dream. They’re a German band that also created a few soundtracks back in the day. Their score for this movie does help elevate the movie when it plays in the background.

Finally, when the action does take place, the movie does step it up a notch. Despite a relatively low budget, the special-effects for the movie are actually pretty good. The fire effects and stunts are some of the best ever committed to film and the third act is quite thrilling.

“Firestarter” is definitely not King’s best adaptation, but the movie is also far from being the worst adaptation of King’s works as well. It’s a good mid-tier adaptation, so to speak. It has good performances from its lead protagonist and antagonist, it stays pretty true to the source material, and the action is pretty decent. Ultimately, I say check it out but just go in knowing that it is definitely a flawed movie.

RETRO REVIEW! - 'The Fly' (1986)

'The Fly' (1986)

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

In the early 1980s, screenwriter Charles Pogue was given the short story “The Fly” by George Langelann. He also watched the original 1958 adaptation starring Vincent Price for the first time as Fox wanted to remake the movie. While he didn’t quite know if he was the right person for the job, Pogue found the story interesting enough to give it a shot and reached out ot producer Stuart Cornfeld in order to get the project going.

However, Fox hated Pogue’s script and decided to not fund the project. They did say to Cornfeld, though, that if he could find someone to finance the picture, they would support the production and distribute the movie. Cornfeld went to his friend Mel Brooks and asked if Brooksfilms would help with the funding.

While initially hestitant because he initially didn’t like the script, Brooks agreed to make the movie. Their initial choice to direct the film was director David Cronenberg, but he was initially unavailable to take on the project. They then turned their attention to a relatively new director, Robert Bierman, and the new director worked with Pogue on the script until tragedy struck.

Bierman’s daughter had been involved in a tragic accident in South Africa and was killed. Bierman returned home to deal with his family loss and when he told Brooks that he couldn’t commit to the project, Brooks put the production on hold for three months to give Bierman time to think about it. However, all passion for the project had understandably left Bierman and Brooks released him from his contract so that Bierman could remain with his family.

Director David Cronenberg was tasked with bringing 'The Fly' to life.

During this time, Cronenberg’s “Total Recall” project with Dino De Laurentiis had completely fallen through. This meant that they could go after him and when Cronenberg asked for $750,000 for the job, they counter offered with $1 million because they were that grateful to finally have the director onboard. 

Then, it was time to cast the two major leads in the movie. Jeff Goldblum was chosen because they thought he could pull off the goofy scientist side of Seth Brundle while still being charismatic enough for the love story. The executives at Fox were hesitant about his casting, but trusted Cronenberg and Cornfeld with the decision.

According to Geena Davis, Cronenberg was initially hesitant to cast her due to her being romantically involved with Goldblum at the time. However, after screen testing both Davis and several other actresses, it became clear that Davis was the absolute right choice to play the female hero of the movie and was hired.

Chris Walas and his company handled Seth's transformations throughout the movie.

The film’s visual-effects were handled by Chris Walas and his company and involved several stages in Seth’s transformation into a hideous fly-like creature. The final form of the transformation was affectionately dubbed the “Spacebug”. Also, several shots that didn’t work were exercised from the film such as a “monkey-cat” sequence where Seth tries to genetically splice together a cat and a baboon and a “happy” ending involving a horribly made “butterfly baby” that may have just been a dream of Davis’ character.

When the movie was set to come out, the tagline read, “Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.” This is a line said in the movie by Davis’ character and it was actually written by Mel Brooks. The tagline has gone down in history as one of the best taglines and the phrase itself has often been repeated in pop culture.

The movie was released on August 15, 1986, and it was one of the rare horror films that was adored by film critics at the time. It was even featured on critic Gene Siskel’s top ten list for best films releaed in ‘86, which was rare considering that Siskel often hated horror films. The movie was also financially successful with plenty of horror fans and critics claiming that it was superior to the original film and an instant horror classic.

MY REVIEW

The fact that the movie was so acclaimed at the time of its release is really no shock at all. The movie, for anyone who hasn’t seen it, has a simple premise. Goldblum’s Seth Brundle is a genius scientist who has almost made a breakthrough in teleportation technology. He has invited a journalist, Davis’ Veronica Quaife, to document his experiments so that she can eventually write the book about this amazing new technology and about the man who invented it.

The two quickly fall in love with one another and form a quick romance. One drunken night, Seth gets jealous when Veronica goes to meet with her old publisher and former lover Stathis Borans (John Getz). He decides to go ahead and use himself as a human test subject in his teleportation machine, but he doesn’t realize that a fly has been trapped in the machine with him.

He comes out apparently fine and better than ever on the other side, but as we know, this is a big ole creature feature and we soon discover that things are not so fine after all.

At the center of 'The Fly' is a tragic love story that adds to the weight of the film.

For Cronenberg fans, this is one of his best body horror films. There is plenty of blood, guts, gore, and goop to be found here and Walas definitely deserves credit for all the fantastic effects that he and his company put into the movie as they used every trick in the book to bring Seth’s transformations to life. Yet, there is one thing here that makes all the blood and guts worth it and allows the story to rise above its basic premise.

At the center of the story is a genuine and tragic love story between Seth and Veronica. That’s what this movie’s more horrific elements hide and it is the true soul of the movie. It also helps that both Goldblum and Davis had a genuine chemistry with one another and sold the love story completely.

As far as Seth’s transformation goes, Cronenberg stated that he treated the transformation like cancer and it really shows. Veronica has to watch in horror as the man she loves disintegrates before her due to this thing within him trying to destroy his humanity. Some people have also noted the comparison to the AIDS epidemic at the time, but for Cronenberg, it was apparently cancer that was foremost on his mind when thinking about Brundle’s transformation.

The movie received plenty of acclaim in ‘86, but the good news is that the movie is still worthy of that acclaim almost 38 years later. It is indeed a superior film to the original ‘58 version and it is one of Cronenberg’s best films with solid performances from both Goldblum and Davis. If you’re a fan of body horror, then this is one of the best examples of the subgenre and you should either see it for the first time or see it again!

THE TUESDAY NIGHT REVIEW! - 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'

'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' (2024)

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is the fourth film in the current series of “Planet of the Apes” films that started with “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” 15 years ago. The last film, “War for the Planet of the Apes” was released almost seven years ago and capped off what was a pretty stellar trilogy of films.

Therefore, I must admit to a little bit of skepticism when I learned that 20th Century Studios was returning to the well for a fourth outing. Thankfully, my skepticism was unfounded as the filmmakers of “Kingdom” have found a way to continue the story, both with this movie and perhaps some more sequels down the line.

In the latest movie, the story fast forwards a few hundred years where the apes definitely have control of the planet and humans are mere primitive versions of their former selves that can’t even speak. The apes, on the other hand, have formed several different clans, one of which specializes in falconry and refers to humans as “Echos” and they barely have any history of Caesar or the world that came before them.

Noa is a young ape within this clan and one night, apes from another clan come to his village and burn it down while kidnapping the inhabitants. Noa vows to find the members of his village and he encounters an Echo that he eventually learns is a human that another ape refers to as Nova.

Noa must try and save his village from a tyrannical king!

Nova seems to be following Noa on his journey that eventually has him finding a tyrannical king named Proximus who is using ape slaves from other clans to try and gain access to an old human vault.

Now, I could say more but that would be getting even deeper and deeper into spoiler territory, so I’m going to hold off there. What I will say is that I enjoyed the world building here and seeing the ways that Caesar’s legacy lives on. There are apes using the old window symbol, some who are misrepresenting his teachings, and it was fun hearing how some of the apes think that apes and humans lived together but their history isn’t quite right.

The story is also good as it is a genuine “hero on a quest” storyline. Noa is a great character to follow and cheer for while Proximus is a good old fashioned bad guy. Infused in this adventure, though, are plenty of themes such as whether or not humans and apes may co-exist one day or if one is destined to destroy the other.

The last thing that I want to note are the special-effects. The first three films in this series boasted some of the best visual-effects ever featured in films. “Kingdom” carries on that tradition effortlessly and Wētā FX once again deserves a nod that may very well include an Academy Award next year.

There was never a scene where I was taken out of the action due to bad visuals. It was actually crazy to see how far we’ve come since “Rise” was released in 2009. Back in 1968, the original “Planet of the Apes” was acclaimed for its use of fantastic make-up effects to bring the apes to life and now the new films can boast that they have some of the best CGI effects ever to be produced by creating characters that we genuinely care for along the way.

I’ll admit that I don’t know quite where I would rank this in the current series of “Planet of the Apes” films. What I can say, though, is that it is another surprisingly strong entry into the series and I can’t wait to see where they take this new story next as the movie definitely sets up room for more films and, more importantly, even more engaging storylines.

MIDDLE-AGED MATINEE! #9 - 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'

'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension' (1984)

I’m back with another “Middle-Aged Matinee!” review, an article where I’ve been visiting or revisiting films from the year of my birth, 1984. This time, I’m taking a look at one of the wildest and weirdest movies to come out in ‘84. That movie is “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” and it was nowhere near a hit when it was released, but it did manage to gain a surprising cult following over the years.

I, for one, saw the movie for the first time only a couple of years ago. I had avoided it in the past because people had told me that it was random, that it was all over the place, and that it was just plain weird. However, that sometimes ends up being the right cup of tea for me so while I was a little surprised that I enjoyed the movie, I wasn’t that surprised.

Now, I will try to get to the gist of what this wacky sci-fi comedy is about. Dr. Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) is a neurosurgeon, physicist, a leader of a band, and a martial arts master. His team, which is also his music band, are the Hong Kong Cavaliers and they’re sort of an “A-Team” like mercenary unit.

Anyway, Banzai has developed a device that allows you to travel through solid objects, which Banzai tests by driving through a mountain. However, in between, there is an 8th dimension and when Banzai returns on the other side of the mountain, he may have brought something back.

Banzai and his team are ready for anything the aliens throw at them!

It is revealed that the leader of the aliens is Dr. Lizardo (John Lithgow), a scientist who got temporarily stuck in the 8th dimension and was possessed by one of the beings trapped there. Now that Lizardo sees that Banzai has a way to get back to the dimension, he sets out with other exiled aliens to go after Banzai and his team.

Oh, and the other aliens from Planet 10 (the ones who banished Lizardo to the 8th dimension) are here to blow up Earth now that they know where the alien exiles are located.

If any of that sounded bizarre, trust me when I say the movie is crazier than anything I can describe. There are several subplots and other distractions, some are necessary and others not so much. It’s like they took sci-fi, action, comedy, and romantic films and threw them into a blender and this is what came out of that exchange.

Yet, I will say that the movie’s plot is really not that hard to follow. Banzai developed a device that attracted aliens exiled on Earth and now they want to get it from Banzai so they can return home. That’s the biggest plot point you’re gonna need to pay attention to.

The cast here is stacked. Peter Weller is great as Banzai and gives a genuinely good lead performance. Weller is also joined by solid supporting stars such as Clancy Brown and Jeff Goldblum in early performances for both actors.

The production design is also good given the time and money that the movie had. This was not a high budgeted affair. The production designers had to take a bonkers script and make it a reality. While they were limited with their resources, they actually succeeded more than they failed.

The long and short of it is that the movie is not for everybody. You’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it. When I show this movie to friends, I tell them that whether or not they like it or hate it, they’re right with either outcome. It just so happens that I fall into the camp that loves this out-of-this-world ‘80s extravaganza.

MOVIE REVIEW! - 'The Fall Guy'

'The Fall Guy' (2024)

FULL REVIEW UNDER THE RATINGS!

Stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) seems to have it all. He’s an expert stuntman for the biggest action star in Hollywood Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and he is with the girl of his dreams, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). However, when a stunt goes horribly wrong, Colt retires from being a stuntman and he and Jody break up.

Over a year later, Colt is contacted by Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), Ryder’s producer. She reveals that Jody is finally directing her first picture, “Metalstorm”, and Jody has requested that she wants Colt to come in to do a big stunt for the movie. When Cody gets there, though, he discovers that Jody definitely does not want him there.

Gail then reveals that she really wants Colt to find Ryder who has disappeared and is apparently involved with some major drug dealers. She claims that if she involves the police, they’ll shut the picture down. Not wanting Jody’s big break to be jeopardized, Colt agrees to go after Ryder and soon finds himself involved in a far greater plot.

I’ll go ahead and say right at the top here that the movie only has two criticisms. First, the plot is quite absurd, though this isn’t the kind of movie that is concerned about that sort of thing. Secondly, it takes a little bit of time to build up steam but once it does, it’s a banger of an action film.

The stunts are real in 'The Fall Guy'!

The biggest thing that elevates what would have been an otherwise mediocre story is the undeniable chemistry between Gosling and Blunt and their undeniable and effortless talents as actors. You cast anyone else in the lead roles of Colt Seavers and Jody Moreno and you might as well hang it up as the movie probably wouldn’t work.

The second thing that elevates the movie is that it is a genuine love letter to stuntmen and what they do to make all that action look cool as hell! The stunts here are real people and the movie even broke a world record for air cannon rolls by a car with eight and a half rolls, beating the previous winner, 2006’s “Casino Royale”.

The third act, in general, is where the movie truly shines as director and former stuntman David Leitch basically uses the story to show off all the wonderful tricks of the trade. The movie is another feather in the cap of Leitch along with his previous action efforts such as “John Wick”, “Deadpool 2”, and “Bullet Train”.

Also, just a quick shout out to Dominic Lewis who creates a banger of a score here that does what it’s supposed to do and that’s to amp up the action!

Now, to all the fans out there of the original TV series that ran from 1981 to ‘86, I’ll go ahead and say that I never really watched the show except for maybe one or two reruns growing up. What I can say is that it doesn’t make the same mistake that movies such as “Starsky & Hutch” and “The Dukes of Hazzard” did, which is to say that they made a parody out of what they were remaking and used the source material for laughs.

Instead, “The Fall Guy” simply takes the original concept and makes a wonderful tribute to the world of stuntmen. It is an over-the-top action film that has something that is missing from a lot of modern day action films: actual action. With that and both Gosling and Blunt in the lead roles, this movie is a fun ride at the theaters!